Rest Days: Should You Be Drinking Protein Shakes

It’s a common question. Especially when you’ve been hitting the gym hard, eating right, and getting a good night’s sleep, now comes a rest day, and you wondering if you should.

Drinking protein shakes on rest days is entirely up to you. You should aim to hit your protein goals on a daily basis. And you can do that through real whole food protein sources, or you can drink protein shakes. What’s important is to give your body enough daily protein for your fitness goals.

Down below I’ll dig I’ll go into more of the specifics if you should be drinking protein shakes based on your fitness goals. More about rest days, and how much protein you should be getting every day, and much more

Should You Drink Protein Shakes On Rest Days

Should you drink protein shakes on rest days is a widespread question in the fitness industry. While supplement companies will say yes (instantly), you should drink a protein shake daily to this question. (I mean, they got supplements to sell you, so what do you expect)

Look I’m not trying to trash-talk the supplement industry. I love my protein shake. And I personally have protein shakes every day. But I want to talk about whether you need to drink protein shakes every day.

Get ready because. I’m about to give you the raw truth and the nitty gritty if you really need to drink protein shakes on your off days from the gym.

So buckle up. Enjoy the ride, and let’s discuss the most important question first…

What’s Your Fitness Goal

To drink protein shakes or not to. That is the question. (look at me. A real Romeo Juliet poet)

The true purpose of a protein shake and drinking protein powder is to help you hit you’re daily protein intake.

Protein shakes and protein supplementation are nice, easy, and convenient ways to do just that.

But why are you hitting a protein intake goal in the first place?

Bulking Or Cutting

Usually, it’s because you are either in a cutting phase and trying to keep as much muscle mass as possible. (Hitting your protein goal daily will help retain as much mass as possible during your cut)

Or you are trying to bulk and put on as much lean muscle mass as possible. (Hitting your daily protein intake will help with this)

Recovery, muscle growth, and muscle retention. Those are goals are the reason why people drink protein shakes.

But you might be asking…

How Much Protein Do I Need

Well the general rule is you want 0.6g-1g of protein per pound of body weight in order for your body to get enough protein for muscle growth and the recovery process.

if you are cutting. You’d want to stay higher on the end of that scale. And if you are bulking, you can be a bit on the lower side of that scale. Keep in mind this is just a general guideline. If you have different protein goals. Then be sure to hit those.

Now you might already know all this. And now you might be asking what the point of going over all this was.

Don’t worry, young protein shake drinking padawan I will guide you along the way.

Now that you know, you should be hitting a daily protein goal, depending on your fitness goal. We can revisit the question of this article.

Can I Skip The Protein Shake On Rest Day

If you have been paying attention, you already should know what I think about drinking a protein shake on rest days. If not, I got your back. (once again)

Skipping the protein shake on rest days is completely up to you. What’s more important is to hit your daily protein goals. Whether you want to drink protein shakes on rest days or just eat food and get the protein from high-quality protein sources. The choice is yours.

The truth is you do not have to drink protein shakes on rest days. Protein supplements are great for just that. A supplement. You should be getting as much protein as you can from real foods.

And to be clear. Yes, you should be eating the same amount of protein every day. Regardless if its a training day or rest day.

Now you might be wondering why do I need to hit my protein goal even on a rest day?

Do I Need To Take Rest Days?

Rest days are probably the hardest thing to do at the gym. Especially when you love to train. I get it. I’m the same way. But I have news for you.

You need to be taking rest days throughout the week. And if you’ve been training really hard. It’s probably good to take an entire rest week! or a dead load week if you’re more comfortable with that.

Benefits Of Protein On Rest Days

Rest days are when your body gets a break and time to recover and grow. And be sure to hit your protein goal on rest days to help with recovery.

Mix your favorite protein powder together and drink a protein shake or eat real food. It is just your preference at this point.

Training is important to stimulate the growth and response you want from your muscles. But proper nutrition and even proper rest are just as important.

So let’s talk about why that’s so important!

Why Is Protein Intake Important For Muscle Growth

This is targeted for people looking to put more muscle mass on and will be bulking. (if you are cutting, then hitting your protein goal is still important for retaining muscle mass. Just don’t expect muscle growth while on a cut)

Proper training will stimulate the muscles to want to grow. Or at least you should be training hard enough to get that response from your body. That’s the whole point of training for muscle growth.

But that’s beside the point of this article right now. Let’s talk about why protein intake is important.

Like I said earlier. Your protein intake should be the same on training days and rest days. Drink protein shakes, and eat real food. Do whichever you need to do to hit your goal.

Getting that protein goal is essential for muscle growth

You need to supply your body with enough building blocks, aka more protein, for your muscles to grow.

If you are not getting enough protein. your body won’t have anything to build muscle with. You might also start not to recover properly and be more prone to injury. Especially if you are under-eating or malnourished.

Here’s another common question I also get

How Often Should You Drink Protein Shakes

I always recommend getting as much protein as possible from real whole foods. Foods like steak, chicken, tuna, tilapia, eggs, ground turkey, etc.

These are all great sources of quality protein. That is great if you can get your daily needs of real food.

But I also understand it’s hard to do that. A protein shake and protein powder are easy and convenient ways to get more protein into your diet.

And I have nothing against them. I drink a protein shake almost every day. Usually, I’ll have 1 to 2 and try to get everything else through real food.

Whey protein powder has been my best friend when trying to hit my fitness goals. And if you need a recommendation and a good protein powder.

I recommend you check out this whey protein powder.

It’s one of my favorite whey protein powders on the market right now. It has great taste, good mixability, and at a good price point. What more can you honestly ask for?

Conclusion To Should You Drink A Protein Shake on Days Off

Alright, my young protein shake drinking padawan. Now you should be able to answer the question, “Can you skip the protein shake on your days off” yourself. Not only that.

But you understand why protein is essential even if you get it through a protein shake or real food. You still need protein on a daily basis to hit your goals whether that’s to gain weight and build muscle. Or to cut down and keep as much muscle mass as you can.

I hope you enjoy this article about drinking a protein shake. I tried to make this as entertaining as possible and educational. I hope I was able to provide you with just that!

And if you like this content, check out the other articles I have on my blog. it tries to write them all in an easy-to-understand, entertaining, and informational way!